On Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi supported the deployment of Western troops in Ukraine. He called it one of the “best tools” for achieving peace with Russia, TASR writes, according to an AFP report.
Europe is entering a “new chapter” of cooperation and will have “new opportunities” after Donald Trump returns to the White House on January 20. The Ukrainian leader stated this in Germany at the American air base Ramstein during the meeting of the Contact Group on the defense of Ukraine. “Our goal is to find as many tools as possible with which we can push Russia to peace,” Zelensky declared.
The deployment of “partner contingents is one of the best tools,” he responded to the potential possibility of sending NATO troops to Ukraine. However, Zelenskyi did not specify whether it would be the sending of Western troops or peacekeeping forces in the event of the end of the almost three-year conflict.
Donald Trump’s promise
Newly elected US President Donald Trump has promised a quick end to the fighting and has repeatedly criticized US military support for Kiev. Acting Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced on Thursday that the US will provide Ukraine with new aid of approximately $500 million.
“It is clear that a new chapter is starting for Europe and the whole world, and that in 11 days. There will come a time when we have to cooperate even more intensively, rely on each other even more and achieve even better results together,” said Zelenskyj. “I see this as an opportunity,” he assessed.
At the meeting, he also “urged” Ukraine’s allies to help Kyiv build a “stockpile of unmanned aircraft” to fight against Russian forces on and off the front. “Drones … have changed the nature of war. Unmanned aircraft scare the enemy and keep him at a distance,” said the Ukrainian head of state.
